The field of this invention is in the burst testing of pressure vessels such as rocket motors.
The conventional method of burst testing pressure vessels such as rocket motors is to seal the vessel and apply internal pressure until failure of the vessel occurs. Ths burst pressure is recorded by attaching a gauging system to the vessel or to the pressurizing system. For closed pressure vessels this type of testing poses no problems but for vented vessels, the sealing of the vent puts stress on the vessel in places that would normally not have stress during normal operations. The additional stress induced as a result of sealing of the vent by a closure causes additional forces to be transmitted from the closure to the case of the pressure vessel.
A method of testing of pressure vessels whereby the vent is plugged but in a manner so that the closure or plug is independent of the case of the pressure vessel would be advantageous because the true burst pressure of a vented vessel, especially a rocket motor, could be measured under dynamic conditions.
Therefore an object of this invention is to provide a burst-pressure test fixture having a plug member that serves to substantially plug the vent opening of a pressure vessel during dynamic testing whereby the pressure vessel is free to move in an outward direction from the plug member during pressurization to a burst pressure.
Another object of this invention is to provide a burst-pressure test fixture that employs a combination pressure gauge, plug, and tube member which performs the functions of substantially plugging the vent opening of a pressure vessel being tested, measuring the pressure, and providing a tube down which the pressure vessel can move during pressurization to burst pressure during dynamic testing.
A further object of this invention is to provide a method of determining the burst pressure of a pressure vessel under dynamic conditions.